What did you wish you knew about fishkeeping earlier?

[VioletThePurple]

Title

 

[connorlindeman]

I wish that I knew about one of the most important parts of fish keeping when I first started.
The Nitrogen Cycle.


I killed tons of fish between 2018-2020 because I didn't know about the NItrogen Cycle.
Once I figured that out, its was easy.

 

[Colin_T]

Everything.
The filter cycle would have been good. I learnt that about 6 years into the hobby when I started keeping marine fish. Back in the day the marine books had the info and the freshwater fish books didn't.

Then diseases would have been good to know about and alternative treatments like salt and heat. I killed heaps of fish by overdosing medications because the shops told me the tank held X gallons of water, when in fact they held considerably less.

One of the things I did when I started working in the pet industry was write down how to work out the volume of water on the back of the shop cards when customers where treating fish. Just so they didn't overdose and wipe out the tank.

Finally, I would have liked to know more about fish diets. I started keeping rainbowfish before they were popular and there was nothing known about them except they came from Australia. If I had known they were primarily vegetarian and sensitive to chemicals, I wouldn't have lost anywhere near as many as I did.

 

[Oblio]

I wish that I knew about one of the most important parts of fish keeping when I first started.
The Nitrogen Cycle.


I killed tons of fish between 2018-2020 because I didn't know about the NItrogen Cycle.
Once I figured that out, its was easy.

Yep, back when I was a wee lad, we would fill up the 10 gal with UGF and carbon filters in the outflow tubes and add a bunch of fish. Add water whenever needed, remove dead fish, replace fish, when all or most were dead we would wash the tank, sometimes with dish soap to be sure it was clean. Repeat ...

 

[Sanityassassin]

What do I wish I'd have knew when I first came into the hobby? Easy.........how damn expensive it was going to be!

 

[BrianK]

I wish I would have known about choosing fish that fit my water parameters. It sure increases my success rate.

 

[Oblio]

What do I wish I'd have knew when I first came into the hobby? Easy.........how damn expensive it was going to be!

True, but for the benefit of newcomers reading, it is like most hobbies

e.g.
Boating: Kayak->John Boat->Bass Boat-> Houseboat
Aviation: Ultralight/Kitplane -> Single Engine Fixed gear -> Multi eng, retractable
Camping: Tent -> Backpacking -> RV 'camping'
Rocket Science: Model Rockets (e.g. Estes)->Amateur Rockets->SpaceX

 

[outofwater]

1. Water parameters and fish compatibility
2. Planning and planting, substrate
3. Cycling a tank

 

[GaryE]

I would like to have known how addictive all this would be. I don't think it would have changed much, but I should have given in to it sooner. Resistance was futile, once curiosity kicked in.

 

[KiwiGal77]

#1 - That it is NOT just a cheap, easy hobby to have as a side thought

#2 - Nitrogen cycle. Everything about it - how to cycle, how to monitor issues, why spikes happen and what to do about them

#3 - Water parameters and fish compatibility

#4 - Addiction